coverage. >> at least it is a tuesday and not a saturday or sunday. we can get that out of the way. storm team 4 radar is showing rain. just about every location as you mentioned. heaviest rain now coming lou the district. also fair packs county, zoom on in here. loudoun county, right along 66 and gainesville. down towards manassas and back towards fauquier county, through warrenton. very heavy rain continuing and we are not done just yet. we have a couple more hours of the moderate, steady to heavy rain. that rain will continue right on through about 10:00, 11:00 tonight. you can see where it is coming from down from the south. still have, i think, what could be the heaviest rain to come and this band back towards the west. that's the band. it will be the last band that moves through. that band will move lou here. we are seeing fairly high winds and cold temperatures. it is a nasty, nasty night out there. let's head outside right now. we are going to head right here along nebraska avenue to our head quarters in northwest washington. veronica johnson outside now. we sent out the nastiest night so far. >> that's right.

i'm still smiling because the rain really hasn't picked up hard again out here, doug. but indeed we have big puddles as i walked out front of news4. i moved across big puddles. as we pan down, weather deck, look at that. area getting slick out here, too. meanwhile, stuck with my big umbrella trying to stay shaded from the rain. and occasionally there is a good gust that comes along and yanks at that umbrella. folks will want to hold firm. we have seen rainfall as high was an inch and a half in leesburg, virginia. purcellville, close to three-quarters of an inch of rain. looking at is the current wind gusts through outthe area. 40 miles per hour and they are only going to get higher because getting about another quarter, maybe even another half of an inch of rain coming our way prior to 2:00 in the morning. >> we will watch the storm as it moves lou. we will update you on what you can expect tomorrow morning later on. >> nasty weather and other parts of our country.

roads are closed and thousands of people are without power after a record-setting blizzard. this is the second huge storm in just a week. bury parts of west texas and kansas. mike seidel is in wichita with a look at some of the worst of these weather conditions. >> reporter: this week's storm was the second largest on record. they have been measuring snow since 1888. you throw that into this one, they have about 7 inches last might and this morning. this is officially the snowiest month on record in wichita. keep in mind this isn't exactly buffer low. they only average about 15 1/2 inch as season. out in the texas panhandle, many roads there are still closed after an historic and crippling blizzard. amarillo had 19 inches yesterday. some of that coming down to two to three inches an hour and low in hurricane force winds p wind gusts as high as 77 miles an hour. you have five to six feet wind drifts. they will be digging out today and tomorrow.

amarillo with 19 inches. snowiest day on record. a drive-by congress. that's the term nancy pelosi used today when she noted her colleagues just returned from a ten-day break and they won't be around after 3:00 on thursday afternoon. nine hours later, the sequester starts. steve handelsman is on capitol hill where there has been a lot of talk but not much action. >> reporter: talk without negotiation. the new nbc news "wall street journal" poll finds america split over whether president obama is you don't know pieing our nation. in the midst of this manufactured crisis. but 64% of that poll, two out of three say, republicans are taking a partisan approach and that discrepency that would explain the obama battle plan on display today in virginia. to dramatize the effect of the inevitable across the board cut and blame them on repgs p

republicans. president obama went to a shipyard at newport news. workers here could be furloughed. >> these cuts are wrong. they are not smart. they are not fair. >> reporter: workers fear sequestration. >> we can't work and make money, you can't go out there and shop. >> i'm worried about it. we build good ships here. i love my job. >> reporter: across the nation, this was montana. sequestration has millions concerned. >> we might be faced with closing school early or something like that. >> reporter: there is an anti-obama backlash. this was virginia last night. >> when is the republican party-going to stand up to this man and stop them. >> reporter: gop leaders aren't charging the president's exaggerate. >> fan the flames of catastrophe and then claim the only way out is more government in the form of higher taxes. >> reporter: another way out is targeting the defense cuts. and the education cuts to have the least effect of a plan house

speaker boehner says he is set to senate democrats twice. >> we should not have to move a third bill before the senate gets off their ass and begins to do something. >> reporter: but the president today rejected targeting cuts. there. >> will is no smart way to do that. there's month smart way to do that. withdrew want to have to choose between, let's say, do i close funding for the disabled kid or the poor kid? >> reporter: no targeting to blunt the effects of sequestration. with three days left no talks reported to try to stop the cuts. i'm steve handelsman, news4. virginia's republican governor bob mcdonnell today said the president could have done more by staying in washington rather than traveling to visit his state. mcdonnell says the commonwealth will see a huge impact because the state is heavily dependent on defense jobs. >> i have the pentagon in my state, 25,000 defense contractors, it is bad for virginia. it is bad for the united states of america. every three to six months we

have a cries that's brings us to the edge of financial collapse. mutual finger pointing and can't get anywhere. >> mcdonnell says sequestration could mean 200 thousand how jobs lost in virginia. over the next decade. military families in our region are feeling stressed about the unknown. some could see pay cuts. for others it could mean furloughs. then there are deployment plans that could change. >> it calls into question their belief the nation is behind them. >> whether it is what services will be available for you on the installation is the child care center, taking your kids, will that still be open? is the commissary still going to be open? >> lot of questions. national military family association says the most stressful part, will are potentially thousands that could be impacted and nobody has any answers. with just three days to go we hope you will stay with news4 for all of the latest on any potential agreements between congress and the president.

you can also get developments any time on our website. nbcwashington.com. or on twitter@nbcwashington. defense secretary leon panetta notified pentagon workers that his replacement will be sworn in tomorrow. the senate confirmed the nomination of chuck hagel. did it within the past hour. the sharply partisan vote was 58-41. just four republicans crossed the aisle. voting in favor of the former senator from nebraska. this confirmation process turned bitter at times with the republican filibuster and hagel opponents questioning his commitment to israel and his stance on iran. a couple who went for a walk and went bird watch found some human remains in laurel. they stumbled on a skull in the woods on sunday. they were hiking off spring road and whiskey bottom road in laurel. the medical examiner's office is looking to identify the remains now. a part of the u.s. navy that was based in maryland for more

than two decades. it is on its way to its new home mitt. it left pier 11 in baltimore for its last time. it is headed to its new home in norfolk, virginia. the ship provides medical and surgical care for u.s. staff overseas. the ship has traveled everywhere from the persian gulf to haiti and even to new york city after september 11. the navy says moving the ship will save about $2 million a year. hundreds of people gathered at the 9/11 memorial in new york city today to mark a somber anniversary. 20 years ago today, six people were killed and more than a thousand others were injured in the first attack on the world trade center. a truck bomb exploded in the garage below the north tower in third base. created a hole five stories deep. six islamist extremists were later convicted of carrying out the bombing, including the accused mastermind. twin to youers were destroyed eight years later on september 11. still ahead on six

circumstances, tragedy for tourists. mid air meltdown on a hot air balloon and how the pilot managed to escape. a police chase through the streets of l.a. but this time the driver jumps out and the passenger takes over and that's just the beginning. >> i'm julie carey. with the sequester means not one but two tough budget years ahead. what it could mean in terms of property taxes and county services. doug continues to track this f

minutes away. a maryland rape case involving dna evidence is now being challenged in the u.s. supreme court. at issue if or when the police can take dna samples from police that are arrested for crimes. the tests are a key crime fighting tool. >> reporter: this supreme court case could be studied by law professors and students for years to come. it could set a precedent as to the legality of search and seizure. since 2008, when maryland began collecting dna samples from arrestees, 43 convictions have resulted. the maryland case before the supreme court is now the focus

of national attention. her daughter katie was the victim of a brutal rape came from new mexico to make a point. >> my daughter's murderer would have been identified three months after she was murdered if we had arrestee dna which is what this case is about. because we didn't have it, it was three years and three months before he was convicted and incarcerated. we got that information. >> reporter: u.s. supreme court justice samuel alito called maryland versus king perhaps the most for criminal case this court heard in decades. in 2009, alonzo king jr. was arrested for assault in maryland. a dna sample taken by police wanting inside of his cheek matched dna from a 2003 rape. the maryland court of appeals, however, ruled that king's constitutional protection from unreasonable searches made the dna evidence inadmissible. the maryland attorney general's office appealed the case to the u.s. supreme court. >> dna is the 21st century fingerprint.

so we immediate to be able to solve cases, cold cases, we otherwise couldn't solve. some criminals leave fingerprints at the crime scene and some people leave identification on video of their picture and some people leave dna. we immediate to be able to use the tools and technology to identify who those people were. >> reporter: lawyers representing king argue the intrusive search violated his rights. >> fourth amendment in our view presumptively requires that when the government conduct as search, it have either a warrant or some level of individualized susz pigs. in this case, the government had neither. the government conducted the search in this case for the valid purpose of investigating other crimes for which the government lacked individualized suspicion. >> reporter: questions asked by the supreme court justices today seemed to indicate that they are concerned about setting limits on dna testing. they asked, for example, should police be able to take a swab from a motorist at a traffic

stop. the case will be decided in june. that's the latest live at the u.s. supreme court. chris gordon, news4. >> thank you, chris. now we go to jim handly with new details on a mormon temple shooting in columbus, ohio. >> that gunfire erupted about 4:45 this afternoon. we are just now getting the first pictures. that was a parking lot here at a mormon temple in columbus, ohio. three people were injured. and a suspect right now is in custody. after the shooting. we are hearing that the conditions of the three victims are critical right now. that suspect has also been transported to a hospital. we don't know the word on his condition right now. no word on a motive for this gunfire either or if the gunman knew any of the victims here. this all unfolding a short time ago in this rainy parking lot outside of a mormon temple. we will bring you more information as it comes in to the live december. >> thank you, jim. just a short time ago we learned

that the hot air balloon that crashed in egypt was in working order. meanwhile, hot air balloon flights over egypt are on hold tonight after one of the deadliest crashes in history. 19 tourists died when their balloon went up in flames. about a thousand feet up in the air. police want to talk to the pilot who was one of only two survivors. >> reporter: it crashed into the sugar cane falling in a ball of fire from a thousand feet above. an american eyewitness posted these images on twitter. he said they show a group of balloons and tourists as they were taking off just after dawn in the ancient city. it was supposed to be an aerial tour of egypt's ain't gentleman of the kings, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. in hong kong the travel agency that organized the tour confirmed chinese tourists were among the dead.

>> what we have received so far, where the accident happened, balloon caught fire and fell down from the sky. >> reporter: an eyewitness said the explosion happened as the hot air balloon was landing. engulfing the carriage and its passengers in flames. rescue workers recovered bodies. some reportedly jumping to their death as their balloon burst into flames and then crashed. hot air balloon rides over the area are popular among tourists but have been several accidents in recent years. the officials say this is the first fatal accident since they began offering aerial tours in 1989. the egyptian government impose ad moratorium on all hot air balloon tour operators across the country and have dispatch ad team of investigate dwrors try to piece together what exactly happened. among the people they will certainly talk to the pilot of the hot air balloon. he survived the deadly incident and remains in a hospital where he is being treated.

>> cardinals are starting to arye in vatican city as the final days of pope benedict's papacy wind down. two more days remaining before the pope steps down. today there are new details about what his future holds. the vatican says he will keep the name benedict xvi but could also be addressed as emeritus pope or his holiness. the cardinals will officially meet monday and begin to set a date to select pope benedict's replacement. doug is here with more about our weather forecast. heaviest rain we are getting is coming through now. >> we are seeing it now. best news is temperatures are going up just a little bit. it is not quite as nasty temperaturewise but nastier with the rain. all in all it is still fasty and equals to about as nasty as it was earlier. conditions continue to deteriorate with that rain and making its write a across our region and see the clouds and low clouds, fog and, yes, that heavy rain moving through now. 45 degrees current number. winds out of the east at 20 miles per hour. winds gusting to 30 miles an

hour now. that's going to continue to make things very uncomfortable if you are out and about this evening. current temperatures, 41 at frederick. 39 still in gaithersburg. 37 in winchester. wind chills in these areas are down to the upper 20s, lower 30s. they are going to stay there throughout much of the evening because of the winds. once again, 30-mile-an-hour wind in washington. 40 in baltimore and near 40 down towards andrews air force base. we are in for a very windy evening and right on through the overnight hours. here is storm team 4 radar showing you the heaviest rain. right now coming through the district. but more down towards the south. let's zoom in. leesburg, towards frederick, martinsburg, winchester, very heavy rain right along 7. down along route 50. that's going to romaine for the next 15 to 20 minutes as it moves to the north. i d.c. metro area, northwest washington, towards bethesda, potted mack, seeing heavy rain. tysons corner seeing the rain. it gets lighter for a brief period of time. then even heavier as you move to the south. this is going to be the heaviest rain we will see all night long.

right now coming through fauquier county, culpeper, we widen out here. this is what you can expected. heavier rain between now and about 11:00. that's the heaviest rain we have seen. another half of inch of rain expected and continued chilly with winds picking up. gusts to 30 and 40 miles per hour. here's the rain we are seeing now. coming through. notice this band down here. big thunderstorms down to the carolinas. i don't think we will get into that. there is enhanced storminess he here, rain that will come through. heaviest rain will come through the next couple of hours. rain conditions continue. area of low pressure that's causing our wet weather today, moves up to the north tomorrow. another one. back towards the west. in between the two, nice and mild. high temperatures tomorrow in the mid to upper 50s. well above average tomorrow for at least one day and then we will see the area of low pressure, next one, start to move back in and drop our temperatures once again back on the cool side. we will see a chance of a shower and flurry during the day

thursday. not expecting too much. tomorrow morning, kwlouds will be moving out. it will be cool and rather damp. temperatures 38 to 4 about 41 degrees. winds out of the southwest at 5 to 10 miles per hour. clouds move out, we will see more sunshine early. i think we will become mostly cloudy in the day. shower late. it will be breezy and rather warm. temperatures 54 to 60. tomorrow afternoon could be quite nice. especially between, say, noon and 4:00 in the afternoon. very nice afternoon. then 49 for a high on thursday. 50 for a high on friday. saturday, coming in with 45 degrees. as we move into the month of march, first weekend of march, cool side. coldest day will actually be on sunday. high of 41. could see a few flurries saturday and sunday. monday, tuesday, not bad. temperatures will stay below average as we head into early next week. i actually think the temperatures will stay below average potentially for not just the first week of march but maybe the second week of march, too. we are in for cooler weather over the next couple of weeks. tomorrow may behee.

about the next week to two weeks. get out and enjoy it tomorrow. >> take advantage of it. >> get out and enjoy tonight. >> it is nasty out there. i can never remember. does march come in like a lion or come in like a lamb? >> in like a lion. it will do that here. >> thank you, doug. more windy days could be a good thing for the future of clean energy in southern maryland. charles county commissioners held a dedication for the county's renewable energy center building. it features a new 22-foot tall wind turbine that will produce power for the building. turbine will power an electric car charging station outside of the center. imagine this. phone rings and an angry voice on the other end tells you to wire money for a kidnapped family member. or else. nearly a dozen people in our area have gotten that call just in the past few weeks. police say that it is a scam. news4's mark seagraves tells us how to avoid falling victim to this scary phone fraud. >> reporter: victims lost

thousands of dollars in the past few weeks. richard got an early morning call asking if he has a son. when he said yes, that's when the trouble started. >> trying to put two and two together and figure out what's going on here? and you are vulnerable at that point. and -- naive, never happened to you before. so you reveal enough information to the guy to -- let him start his spiel. a name and a city. that's all he needs. >> reporter: his son was being held for ransom bay drug dealer, the caller said my brother took him to an apartment and they are holding him there until you send me $800. i cannot guarantee you what will happen to your son if you hang up this phone. >> reporter: while the call shows up the caller i.d., coming from maryland, here in montgomery county police headquarters, they were able to

trace the call to determine it actually came from outside of the country. >> there is no rhyme or reason what they are doing. they are calling any number and just hoping that someone picks up the phone and willing to believe their story. >> reporter: richard did the right thing once he figured out it was a hoax. >> hung up my cell phone and dialed 911 immediately. while my wife was on the other phone, her phone, redialing my son. >> they are trying to create a sense of urgency. they know you want to help your loved one and they don't want to you stop and think. >> reporter: at least 11 people in maryland reported getting calls. several of them did wire the cash. money police say they will probably never get back. richard was one of the lucky ones. he figured it out. if you get a call or e-mail saying a loved one is in trouble and needs cash, your best bet is to call police. water bills are going to be going up. tom sherwood breaks down how much. >> 10-year-old boy charged with bringing a toy gun to school.

he has his day in court. early morning effort to get to know the homeless in fairfax county. >> coming up in sports, capitals getting ready for division foe and familiar face. from the puck to the pitch. d.c. united ready goat their season rolling. hoyas are really hot at the right time. ♪ [ female announcer ] from tracking the bus. ♪ to tracking field conditions. ♪ wireless is limitless.

"news4 at 6:00" continues. traffic oyp 66 northern virginia, usually a nightmare out. new high-tech system for managing traffic is coming. it will include message and lanes signs that tell you of incidents, delays, travel times. lit operate using a vehicle detection sensor and closed circuit cameras. reduced speed limits as you approach congestion areas, work zones, special events. this system will go into a place, go into place, from washington to gainesville with construction beginning this spring. >> big changes could be coming to d.c. water. rates are expected to jump, city street could get a new greener design to keep storm water out of local rivers. tom sherwood has more on the plan that comes with a pretty big price tag for those that live in the district. >> it is a $3 million year's long effort to meet epa demands that the city stop neighborhood

flooding and sewage discharge and pipe systems into the anacostia and potomac rivers. this animation shows the roof of a 100-deep tunnel that's being built now to handle some of the runoff. d.c. water director george hawkins brief it is mayor and council today on the plans warning water bills are going to rise to pay the cost. >> very significant increases to water bills. so there is no question that this has been an enormous financial challenge for our rate payers. >> reporter: average monthly residential water bill is $71.36 with yearly increases that average will rise to $117 a month by 2021. d.c. water's blue plains which treats sewage from as far away as loudoun and fairfax counties in virginia, it is one of the world's largest treatment facilities. to capture the runoff, d.c. water also is asking epa to allow to it do a pilot project, more green and environmental solutions, rather than new tu